More than 400 penguins, most of them young, have been found dead on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro state over the past two months, according to Eduardo Pimenta, superintendent for the state coastal protection and environment agency in the resort city of Cabo Frio.Â While it is common here to find some penguins — both dead and alive — swept by strong ocean currents from the Strait of Magellan, Pimenta said there have been more this year than at any time in recent memory.

Speculation about the cause ranges from overfishing to pollution.Â What’s not clear is whether this is a genuine spike in deaths or merely the result of changes in ocean currents.Â Either way, it certainly is something to be concerned about, as would any report of a sudden die-off.

Penguins have enjoyed a huge pop culture renaissance in recent years, thanks in large part to Hollywood (March of the Penguins, Madagascar, Happy Feet, etc.).Â Along with polar bears, they have become poster children for the threats posed by a range of environmental concerns, including global warming and overfishing.